The Fall of Nabudis
by Pylilo
Summary: A narration of Zecht's assault on Nabudis, Rasler's attempts at reclaiming his capital, and his eventual death. Rated for violence.


Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XII or any related items and make no monetary gain from writing and submitting this

Nabudis has never seen such a mélange of nations and races. The rain of cannon fire onto the paling, and the clatter of weapons and armor on the stone of the courtyards and halls suggest that this is not a meeting for peace. Judge Magister Zecht waits for the paling to fall, safely overhead aboard the _Ultima_. Looking on a telescopic monitor, he controls the movement of his army as they make their advance into the city. Suddenly, an attendant at the bridge alerts him of a presence at the city's gate: "Reinforcements from Rabanastre, sir."

He changes the view of his telescope. "Their airships can get inside just as well as ours. Send a few _Remora_ their way," he dictates, "I want no distractions when that paling falls."

"Sir." The soldiers on the bridge alert the necessary ships of the fleet to send out their cutters. "Aim first for the transports," is the command. _Remora_ can be deadly in air combat, but are woefully lax in speed. However, the assortments of five or six each make the short distance between the 3rd Archadian fleet, and the air brigade of Rabanastre.

The first group peppers down bullets on the unsuspecting transports, pilots imagining the people inside rocking in their seats. Once many more groups of _Remora_ arrive, the reinforcements begin to maneuver. They remove the ships carrying soldiers and chocobo from the air, depositing their load onto the ground. The men ride and sprint to the protection of the paling, running over comrades felled by fire from above, weaving through the sand-clouded air. The Archadian cutter ships rip through a few lines of these soldiers, and when all the Rabanastrans are safely within the boundary of the paling, they adjust, turning toward the remaining ships.

Rasler and Basch lead their men into the city, leaving Vossler to control from the air. He sends out two small hummingbird-like ships for every _Remora_ in sight. His strategy succeeds, wiping a sizeable amount of cutters out of the fleet's possession. He restrains from countering, ordering the return of any of his surviving ships. He waits for Zecht's next move, having not the idea of why the judge has not made his aerial assault on the Rabanastran airships.

Lord Rasler knows his capital well, despite his repose in Rabanastre for a few weeks to be with the Lady Ashe. Naturally, the city looks different under the blue flares of the paling and the splashes of dark red across navy colored marble. He and Basch make for the second tier, fighting up the city's many stairs. Basch's axe buzzes in fast, periodic swoops, splitting armor like a dragonfly dipping into the water, just enough to break its seal. A spearman they have with them, his halberd restraining the descending Archadians. Rasler skewers a soldier through the break in armor near the lower parts of the ribs, then thrusts him over the wall. They are not followed, having left plenty of men to guard the bottom of the staircase. Some of the Rabanastran archers take post in the Lord's and Captain's wake, loosing a few shafts into the crowd of Archadians.

From above little has changed, but Zecht becomes almost entirely muted; anxiety on his face professed through the mask upon the men at the bridge. He sees his men reaching the fifth and final tier, breaking the clerics and magicians that were waiting there. Captain Josef leads a group to the very central tower, where an enormous crystal peels out like a bell, beckoning him to complete his task. As soon as he disappears inside the room, Zecht turns from his monitor and rushes toward a transport. As he boards the small craft, the opalescent hemisphere breaks away, receding in flame.

"The Paling has fallen!" shouts one of the men aboard the _Ultima_, "Ships from squads alpha through epsilon make your target the Rabanastran ships. All others fire at any concentrations of the ground attackers."

Basch and Rasler make haste atop a chocobo. The captain leaves his axe at his side, taking his elm bow in its stead. "Basch, the paling must be our first object," shouts the lord, "Without it, the _Ultima_ will break our walls and leave us in ruin!"

"Nabudis has surely fallen Rasler, there will not be even the tower that holds the crystal left to reclaim by the time we ascend the remaining three tiers."

"I will not allow my capital to perish so easily!"

"Then you wish to break alongside it?" Basch turned and shot unbridled anger into lines of Archadians, watching them drop out and reform. "We must retreat or risk losing our men." He turns to see two archers assuming posts across the raised courtyard. One rolls backwards as Basch's arrow pierces the cloth protecting his shoulder. "Lord Rasler!" cries the captain. Rasler turns to see the remaining archer dislodge his arrow. The point enters his throat, causing him to spit blood down the front of his white armor. The arrow landed as if on a target, a missing circle of armor around his neck.

Blood pounds to his cheeks, to his arms, his legs; to every place where his veins bring red life he feels a sharp tug. He slips downward, arms ineffective, body like that of a doll: a cold and lifeless imitation of a human. He does not sense the Captain's grip on his body, but sees faintly the flash of color that accompanies being swept onto Basch's avian mount. He sees Nabudis one last time, upside down, new lines of red being spilt over the white streaks of the marble stairs. He is conscious for just long enough to hear the ever so slight clang of silver beneath him, unlike that of the iron blades on armor. He thinks of the lady who wore the same type of silver, his eyes closed, his blood unmoving, his brain slowly shutting down for one last sleep.

--

Zecht stood alone in his cabin, holding his prize. Although the Rabanastran reinforcements were making the hastiest leave they could, the judge wished to test the item. The stone's use eluded him, its roseate color smiling back like a painted face, showing nothing. He walked onto the deck in all of the finery common among the magistrate, and held the stone to the sky. He felt it take effect immediately, sucking the energy from him, straight from his heart, up his arm and into the stone. He felt troubled as its magnetic power made him feel as though he was being taken right from the very metal of the _Ultima_ beneath him. Abruptly, the force stopped, and within seconds a complete reverse occurred.

A red light shot in the direction he held his arm, and Zecht felt infinite magickal energy being blasted out from the stone. He tried to bring it back down, possibly stopping its eruption. No matter how his muscles strained, he could not remove the stone from its position. A flare struck out from the line of red light, swirled up, down, into the city, and whizzed through an outer wall, obliterating it. The stone did not stop. Another flare broke from the line that was rouging the night sky. This made directly for the lake near Nabudis, plunging down into the water that subsequently burst hundreds of feet into the sky. This needed to end, he did not want to reduce the entire city to rubble, Archadian soldiers still fought the retreating reinforcements, and the stone would not discriminate, blasting anything its arbitrary flares met. With all his force he managed to lower it slowly, the red glow dissipating as it was returned to his pocket.

--

Ashe sat at a table in her chamber; thumb rotating her ring about the finger. She stood immediately as the door opened. Her attendant made an attempt to speak, but was interrupted. "Do you have news of Lord Rasler?" she demanded. She had not been informed of the emergency response of the Rabanastran reinforcements, being held against her will in her room.

"My lady, Captains Basch and Vossler, along with your husband-"

"The Lord Rasler," Ashe corrected.

"I apologize. Captains Basch and Vossler and Lord Rasler led a group of reinforcements to Nabudis. I have been sent to inform you that your hus- I mean that Lord Rasler has, lamentably, fallen."

Ashe clutched her chair, having considered this as possible news, but not actually assuming that Rasler might have been the one to die. Someone more disposable to her, like one of the lower captains, Lussac for instance, would have died. Yes, she told herself, this maid has slanderously mistaken Captain Lussac for Lord Rasler. The white haired man she married would not have died in a simple battle.

Sensing the disturbance within the princess, but not observing any action, the maid continued. "An arrow pierced him in the throat, exactly where-"

"-he has no armor," Ashe finished the sentence. Her denial was short-lived.

"I am also to inform you that your uncle the Marquis of Bhujerba makes for Rabanastre aboard the _Andrea_, to meet with you with counsel ready."

Ashe let the next few hours pass over her as if she lay on her back in an ocean, allowing buoyancy to hold her as waves spilled across her front. She did not meet the Marquis' gaze when he spoke to her, telling her about what she must do. She felt, lying in the shallow water, that she was drifting further out to sea. Drifting further away from Rasler; further away from Dalmasca.

--

AN: I see the timeline now. Oops. I think too much happens at Nabudis at too many different times, so I was confused. This accidentally combined a few events. A good mistake I hope.


End file.
